Fire and Rain
by CatchLikeFire
Summary: Elena was the sweet and innocent girl whose life Damon had unknowingly wrecked in one night during their freshman year. When the Gilbert returns two years later she isn't the same perfect little princess she used to be. What caused sweet little Elena to go from white to red?
1. Chapter 1

_When all you wanted was to be wanted_

_Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now_

_-Fifteen, Taylor Swift_

* * *

EPOV:

I remember the day he first walked into school. It was my freshman year and I was wearing a green long sleeved shirt and jean capris. Insecure, innocent, and completely unprepared for high school. My best friend Bonnie was just as nervous as me and we linked arms as we walked onto the property.

Our eyes widened at the sight of pretty girls strutting into the school in groups of five to fifteen, jocks playing basketball, and most of all, the stoners who were lighting cigarettes as they made their way around the side of the building.

"Come on... Lets just, go on in..." Bonnie suggested and I nodded blankly. Was it weird that I had no desire to be here at all?

A few years ago I was what you could call the "it girl" of Mystic Falls, everyone knew me, and I tried to know everyone in return. But as we entered the end of eighth grade and everyone in Junior High suddenly decided they were too cool to be naive and innocent, I had slowly become the odd one out.

I used to get invited to parties in Junior High all the time, but I'd taken a break for a few months soon after my parents explained to me that I was adopted. Crushed at the time, I'd needed space and relaxation to move past it, and so I hadn't expected much about the party scene with my friends to change in four months.

Oh, was I wrong. Everyone was suddenly convinced they were way more mature than they really were. Of course in the past two years there was the occasional beer or cigarette there but never had I walked into a full on kegger. I'd really snapped when I saw my boyfriend Matt drinking from a funnel. I'd yelled at him about how stupid he'd been and he told me to stop being such a child. In the end he'd walked me home and told me in very plain words, that if I didn't want to see him behaving that way again, I should just stop going to parties.

Bonnie told me I was ridiculous to go along with it but I love Matt and I don't want to lose him just because of the amount of alcohol he drinks.

So here we were walking down a highschool hallway, our only connection to the 'popular kids' being my boyfriend of two years. Matt walked up to me and planted a kiss on my cheek, grinning at me.

"Hi," he greeted me and smiled.

"Hi," I responded, blushing as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

Matt went on to tell me about his plans to try out for the football team later this week, how excited he was to be in high school... But I was distracted.

Across the hallway leaning against a locker was him. He was about my age. Definitely freshman, but he didn't seem nervous, or uncomfortable, he looked totally at ease. Messy black hair, pale skin, lean frame, and the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen.

God he was... Hot. I immediately blushed at the thought and looked back at Matt. He was still babbling on.

"Oh, there's Tyler, I gotta talk to him. See you later!" he exclaimed quickly and leaned in for a small kiss. I watched him walk away for a moment before turning back and seeing the guy from before being confronted by none other than Caroline Forbes, Mystic Falls new 'it girl'. I watched him smirk at her devilishly and whisper something in her ear. She giggled girlishly and practically skipped away.

He looked up then, straight at me, and winked.

I gasped and turned around, walking away quickly, blushing all the way.

* * *

Later during Geometry I sat by myself at a table, wincing when some sophomore guy threw a piece of crumpled up paper at me. I looked back at him and glared. He smiled and nudged his friend whom waved creepily. Gross.

Class began and about halfway through the teacher, Mr. Mosely was interrupted by the opening of the door. The same dark haired boy from before walked in casually, ignoring the teacher who was staring at his back in irritation.

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?" the teacher demanded angrily and the buy turned around.

"Taking a seat?" he responded in a smooth voice.

"And just who are you and what gives you the right to waltz into my class halfway through?"

"Hmm, I'm Damon Salvatore, and I gave myself that right."

The teacher looked at his arrogant stance and face and clenched his hand in a fist.

"Since it's the first day I'll let it slide Mr. Salvatore, now have a seat," the teacher said harshly and Damon just shrugged and made his way to a seat. Right next to me. Ugh.

We sat in uncomfortable silence for a while, but I had the feeling he was watching me. I lance at him nervously but he was staring at the ceiling, humming to himself. I stared at him curiously, and he began to smirk.

"Is something bothering you miss?" he asked playfully an I sighed.

"No."

"Most girls like you don't give me the one over, especially not more than once a day," he said unabashedly. I widened my eyes in disbelief.

"Excuse me?" I squeaked and another voice interrupted our conversation.

"No, excuse me, am I interrupting your conversation?" Mr. Mosely asked, looking annoyed. I bit my lip in frustration.

"No, not at all sir, I was just telling little miss perfect here that she's braver than most, ogling me for so long," Damon said arrogantly and I glared at him in frustration.

"Well... Excuse me what's your name?" Mr. Mosely asked.

"Elena... Elena Gilbert," I told him through my teeth.

"Miss. Gilbert if you could refrain from checking out other students during instruction time, that would be appreciated," he said cruelly and the class began to snigger to itself. I flushed bright red and bit my tongue to refrain from fighting back.

Class continued and I avoided even glancing at Damon for the rest of class. Arrogant jerk.

At the end of class I grabbed my bag and stood to leave but Damon grabbed my wrist gently. I looked at him in confusion.

"Are you coming to Lockwood's party tonight?" he asked slowly. I gaped at him in disbelief. Was he trying to ask me out? I was now 100% sure he was brand new to Mystic Falls. Everyone knew me and Matt were a thing.

"Probably not," i said in a stiff voice.

"Too bad, I don't really know many people here and you seem pretty cool…" he said and for the life of me I'm still not sure why I said what I did. Maybe it was his relaxed demeanor, or the way his hair contrasted to his skin… Maybe it was his smooth voice. It was probably because of his big blue eyes… But I'd never admit any of that. I'd later blame it on my innocent naive freshman mind.

"You know what? On second thought… I might go…" I said quickly, then bit my tongue in shock. Damon smiled slyly and I held my breath.

"Alright," he said standing up smoothly, "see you there."

I didn't breathe again till he was out of the room.

* * *

About eight hours later I was all dolled up for the party, which I swore to myself I was attending to be with Matt and Bonnie. But I knew deep down what I was really going for, which was stupid.

I was wearing a cream colored dress with a grey cardigan and white ballet flats. My hair was up in a delicate bun and I wore diamond stud earrings to complement the dress. Matt held my hand as he pulled me from group to group. He tried to convince me to 'have a beer and live a little' but I just shook my head. I thought it was immature and stupid. According to my parents my real mother had died from alcoholism. I didn't want to go down that road.

I kept my eyes open for Damon the entire time, he was just always in the back of my mind. Finally I saw him talking to some golden haired boy that I heard him call Stefan. He saw me and smirked.

"Elena! Nice to see you made it," he exclaimed.

"Alright Steffy why don't you take your moody self somewhere else?" he suggested plainly and I looked at the boy apologetically. He just sighed and walked away in a bored sort of way.

We stood there for a moment before Damon snatched a bottle of whiskey from a group of passing girls, whom shrieked at him and moved on. I stared at him with distaste as he took a drink straight from the bottle.

"Thats disgusting," I commented, scrunching up my nose.

"Let me guess? You've never even tried it," he replied and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I don't need to try it, it will always be gross to drink straight from the bottle at a party full of underage morons," I growled and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Underage morons you say? Thats a bit hypocritical," he said.

"Well, I'm not drinking."

"Yes we've all noticed," he said and I crossed my arms.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you stick out, all stiff and proper, not bouncing to the music, not holding a red solo cup…."

"It makes me the smartest one here-"

"-No it makes you the stiffest one here," Damon said, and then turned his head, glancing at Tyler who had his tongue down some blonde girls throat and was pushing her up against the wall, "actually he's probably the stiffest one here."

I blushed angrily at his joke and fiddled with my dress.

"See, even something like that makes you uncomfortable," he said and I stomped my foot in irritation. He stared at my leg in amusement and I glared. Suddenly before I knew it he had pushed me up against the wall roughly. His hands held at the sides of my arms and I gasped as he brought his lips to mine.

Almost immediately he pulled away and I was dazzled into a state of pure confusion.

"I'm sorry but you're just so awesome, I had to… I'm so sorry," he apologized but I had a strange feeling. I ignored the feeling for whatever reason I can't remember and just nodded dully.

"I'm just gonna go…"

"No wait, I need you to know, that I'm not playing around with you, I really like you," he said in a sincere voice and i lost myself in his eyes.

"Okay," I said in a small voice, before pushing away from him, and running to hide in the kitchen. I took a deep breath and tried to process the information.

Leaving the kitchen I grabbed a piece of pizza and ate it quickly, making my way through the crowds. Suddenly I collided with none other than Matt. my boyfriend. Oh no.

"There you are, its nice to know your not upstairs in a room with one of your latest conquests," he said harshly and my eyes widened n shock.

"What?"

"I saw you with that guy against the wall! WHAT THE HELL ELENA?" Matt shouted and suddenly everyone was looking at us. My voice caught in my throat and I tried to hold bakc my tears of shock and frustration.

"No, Matt… Its not what you think!"

"You know what Elena its exactly what I think isn't it?! You've been screwing around my back from the start!"

"SHUT UP MATT! You don't understand, Damon kissed ME! I had no control in the situation! He says he has feeling for me…" I explained and Matt's rage died down a bit.  
"That son of a bit-"

"No Matt leave him alone okay? I don't want to cause a scene…"

"Elena we've already caused a scene! Dammit I need a beer!"

And suddenly something inside of me just snapped, and I realized I didn't love Matt. Not the way I should. I love him like a brother, like a friend. Thats why when we kissed it was so casual, so bland, whereas with kissing Damon… It was thrilling and intense.

"Matt, we're over."

There was a dead silence in the room.

"What?" he squeaked out quietly and I shook with emotion.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't working out," I said softly. The silence was deafening. After a moment I just turned and left, unable to deal with the aftereffects.

I was walking towards the street when I heard giggling. I looked to the side and saw something I wasn't prepared for. Leaning against the hood of a blue camaro was none other than Damon Salvatore, running his hands down the body of some trashily dressed red head. He moaned and kissed her cleavage as she pushed her body against his.

I gasped to myself and before I knew it, tears were falling from my eyes. I turned and found myself running, faster and faster. The wind was hitting my cheeks and I'd been running long enough to see sweat dripping from my arms when I realized how stupid I'd been.

Why had I even gone?

I ran farther and farther and before I knew it I had crossed Wickery bridge, and it had started to rain. The raindrops fell on my skin and cooled my pores which were burning painfully from exertion. Fire and rain colliding in the darkness.

I suddenly stopped. I took a deep breath.

I quickly called my parents and told them where I was. They knew it was urgent when I mentioned how I'd gotten in a fight with Matt, whom they loved, and how I'd run farther than Wickery bridge.

About ten minutes later the car pulled up and I hopped in quickly, dripping stormwater and still smelling like perspiration. The seats were going to be wet for weeks.

"Do you want to talk about it now?" my mom asked and I just shook my head. My drenched hair stuck to my cheeks and I leaned my head against the window. Dad looked at me, concerned, but I ignored him.

A moment later the car was jerked around and I heard my mother scream.

Everything was suddenly a blur as I was jerked around and a moment later I was surrounded by water. I felt someone pulling on my seatbelt and through my blind confusion I felt someone pushing me upward.

I kicked and thrashed my arms a few times and seconds later I felt my head break through to the surface.

* * *

**A/N: So whatcha think… ? Btw the next chapter won't be quite as long and it'll be a little different than what you're probably expecting….**

**Cough-badass Elena-Cough Cough**

**I'm sorry I'm such a slow updater on other stories... I didn't even mean to write this it just sorta came to me quickly and I wrote it in half an hour. Oops.**

**Follow and review if you'd like to read more! 3**


	2. Chapter 2

_You make me happy, you make me happy_

_And I never listen to anyone_

_Let them all say_

_Hey, Lolita, hey_

_Hey, Lolita, hey_

_I know what the boys want, I'm not gonna play_

_Hey, Lolita, hey_

_Hey, Lolita, hey_

_Whistle all you want but I'm not gonna say_

_ -Lolita, Lana Del Rey_

* * *

DPOV:

_"No wait, I need you to know, that I'm not playing around with you, I really like you," I said feigning sincerity, maintaining eye contact the entire time._

_"Okay," she said meekly, pushing away from me gently and hurrying away._

_I knew she believed me, they always did. I'd done this at my last school quite often, always set up the innocent ones, the ones in sweet little relationships that were bound to fall apart someday… and when they did, the girls came crying to me, all too willing to let me take their clothes off._

_I'm a virgin, not that I haven't had some sexual experiences, but I figure it'll be more fun when girls my age are more mature… They don't exactly have many curves or big boobs at age fifteen._

_I should be a sophomore but….. life is always dealing me bad cards._

_As I saw Elena's brunette head disappear around the corner I took another swig of whiskey, not thinking that that would be the last time I saw Elena Gilbert._"

* * *

I walked over to a bench where a few cheerleaders were chatting mindlessly in front of school. Sitting down I threw my arm around a redhead and a blonde, I don't know their names.

Thats when I saw her.

The whole population in front of the school paused in shock and confusion as a cherry red Ferrari pulled into a parking space about twenty feet from where I was sitting.

"Woah who's driving that?" I heard Caroline Forbes gasp from behind me.

Everyone held their breath as the car opened and long tan legs emerged from the car, feet encased in high black stilettos. Suddenly all guys were staring intently and a girl pulled herself out of the car. She was average height, brunette, and obviously rich.

She was the most appealing thing I'd ever seen in my life.

She was wearing a Guns and Roses t-shirt that was cut to show off about an inch of her flat, tanned stomach. Her curves were extremely visible and she wore a short, tight, black skirt and when she turned around to shut her car door I stared straight at her nice ass.

Shit.

She had black eyeshadow framing her wide eyes and deep red lipstick on her plump lips. I was snapped out of my trance when the other car door opened to a younger guy with brown hair. He was dressed in all black and I could tell just by his demeanor where he should be. The stoner pit.

"HOLY FUCK!" Caroline Forbes exclaimed from behind me as I watched the girl strut sexily past me without a glance. hips swaying as she moved.

"Thats Elena and Jeremy!" Forbes shrieked and my mouth opened in disbelief as I watched her disappear into the school. Flashing back in my mind I remembered the innocent and insecure Elena Gilbert. Shy, prudish, completely disapproving of sexual behavior and alcohol, looking like pure sin arriving in a motherfucking Ferrari.

No way.

* * *

I waited the whole day hoping to see Elena, and I was rewarded in fourth period, trigonometry. I walked in right when the bell rang and took a seat in the back. Five minutes later as Ms. Gordon explained the curriculum for the year or something the door opened. In walked the goddess herself.

"Sorry I'm late, scheduling mix up," she said smoothly, smiling apologetically at the teacher.

"Of course, just take a seat," the teacher answered absentmindedly and I knew without looking that the only seat open was next to me.

Elena approached me slowly, and her eyes fell upon me for a moment. I saw a flash of recognition for that second before she sat down gracefully. The teacher handed out some form and I realized I'd forgotten a pen. I began to raise my hand when something tapped me on the shoulder. It was Elena, offering me a pen with a playful look in her eye.

"Thanks," I said roughly, taking it from her.

I handed it back when I was done and she did something I'd never seen anyone but me pull off. She fucking smirked.

I was then otherwise distracted when she decided to cross her legs. The short little skirt she was wearing rid up on her thighs even more and I stared at the soft smooth looking skin of her legs.

I imagined those long legs wrapped around my waist, her fingers clawing at my back in pure…. WOAH. Crap no.

I had to adjust myself when I realized I suddenly had a huge hard on.

This girl would be the death of me. Counting the minutes till the bell rang made time pass even slower and by the time the bell rang I had imagined enough naked grandmothers to soften up.

Elena stood first and moved ahead, leaving iphone on the seat when she stood. I grabbed it and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, you left your phone on your chair," I said casually, giving her my best debonair smirk. She just smiled and took it back, completely unaffected.

"Thanks," she said with a note of sarcasm and I raised an eyebrow when she started giggling a bit under her breath.

"What?" I growled and she tucked a strand of her chocolate hair behind her ear.

"Well… you just look so expectant, like you deserve some grand applause for handing me my cellphone, which if I'd left I could just replace, its not a fucking life form," she said and I dropped my jaw in shock.

"Then again you have always considered yourself worthy of an applause haven't you Salvatore?" she continued and at this point I was standing perfectly still, I hadn't expected this conversation to go this way.

"See you later," she finished after a moment of silence, swaying her hips as she spun on her stiletto and left the classroom.

I stood perfectly still for a few long, quiet minutes. One, she remembered me, not well may I add. Two, she had a perfect, bitchy little mouth that I wanted to just smother with my lips… and other parts of my body. Three, she smiled like vanilla and raspberries, my two favorite scents. Four, she was obviously very complicated underneath the money and confidence. And lastly, I have never wanted anything more in my life.

* * *

The next day at school I was distracted from my quite often routine of skipping gym when I saw none other than Elena Gilbert, doing a back handspring effortlessly to the cheers of about twenty people.

She stood in the middle of a crowd and did another flip, while a thoroughly pissed looking Barbie glowered at her.

"Fine you can join the squad!" she shrieked and the crowd cheered. I rolled my eyes and wandered away. School sucks. Lots of people competing for each others attention, competing competing competing… Even though it's clear who will always have the most. I always have attention, always have, what can I say, I'm attractive. I have the type of personality that people enjoy being around, until I decide I don't like them around me.

Walking I heard my phone ring and stopped to lean against a tree. I looked at the name and cringed.

"Hey," I muttered, always hating these conversations.

"Hey Damon, how are you doing?" I heard the anxious response.

"Peachy keen, walking on sunshine."

"Damon…. we need a favor."

"Yeah and I need a golden goose."

"Seriously man this is important please we just need you to tell him to stop looking-"

"-SHUT THE FUCK UP! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD PUT ME THROUGH THE HELL YOU HAVE AND IN A YEAR THE THREE PHONECALLS I'VE GOTTEN ARE ABOUT MONEY, MONEY, AND DAD! DON'T EVER CALL ME AGAIN!" I shouted furiously and hung up the phone. The fact that he thought he could get a favor from me was ridiculous. There are a thousand other people I would converse with my father for, and the one person who asks it of me is the one who ruined my goddamn life. Pissed, I threw my phone at a tree.  
"SHIT!" I yelled when I noticed the long crack along the Droid's screen. That then lead me, like everything has in the last 24 hours, to Elena Gilbert.

I need to have her, I have to. She is the sweetest, most devilish thing I've ever set my eyes on, and I want her bad.

* * *

**A/N: Lol so I wrote this once before, and it somehow became a full on smut mostly involving Damon ranting about how hot Elena was to himself, and then I was like wtf did I just do….. so…. I rewrote it.**

**I know Elena just seems like some rich brat now or something but thats not the case… she'll do some stuff soon that sort of….. makes people see her differently.**

**Hope you liked this one! **


	3. Chapter 3

_One track mind, one track heart_

_If I fail, I'll fall apart_

_Maybe it is all a test_

_Cause I feel like I'm the worst_

_So I always act like I'm the best_

_-Marina and the Diamonds, Oh No!_

* * *

EPOV:

So far, so good. I had gotten back to Mystic Falls in one piece and although my bed felt way more comfortable now that I'm back, I find it hard to sleep without the bustle and business of LA.

It's weird being back. Sometimes I stare at my parents bedroom at the end of the hall and I have to blink back tears. But other than the queasy feeling I get every morning when I remember they're gone, everything's is good.

I rolled over in the darkness and kicked off the comforter. Today had been my first day back at school, about a week late from the start of the year, but oh well.

Everyone had freaked when they saw my Ferrari, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that it's just a fancy sports car, that's it.

After I'd moved on through the first few stages of grief holes up in Jenna's tiny apartment in LA for the first six months, I became the girl that did everything. On my sixteenth birthday I said to hell with it and went to a huge party I was way too young for. I got reasonably drunk and ended up losing my virginity to some guy named Josh Hutcherson, whom I later recognized when watching the Hunger Games with Jeremy and I almost puked.

Thus began my party phase, lots of them, crazy parties, dance clubs, fake IDs... That's when I became best friends with Rebekah Mikaelson, a 17 year old model/daughter of a major producer. We did all kinds of crazy shit together and for a little while I got caught up in some drugs with this girl who lived down the hall from us named Anna. She was weird because she was like a closet druggie, she showed no signs. Completely healthy, and happy by day. But when the sun went down she applied some thick eyeliner and dealt shady deals in the darkest corners of LA. Which sounds dangerous for her, but she wore a thick leather jacket equipped with pepper spray, a pocketknife, and 9 millimeter that I to this day have no idea how she acquired. She came over to our place a few times and her and Jer became close, and before I knew it my brother was dating the chick and I was constantly walking in on them hooking up in our room. Ugh.

Bekah was constantly doing modeling and crap and she ended up getting me into it too. I did a few commercials, some ads, and even a show. The show had the hottest clothes I'd even worn in my life and that's when I got totally addicted to stilettos and boots.

I had this one pair of "hooker boots" that's I wore everywhere for months until I left them on the floor of one of my one night stands floors a little after I turned seventeen.

One night I was smoking with Bekah and some of the other druggies I'd come to know in an alley outside a club when the police came. They dragged us all to the police station and tested us for alcohol consumption and drug usage. So overall, we were fucked. Eight of us were underage and the other two were screwed for possession of cocaine, heroine, and angel dust.

Bekah's brother Klaus bailed us the next morning and I decided to take a break from the fast life for a while. I fixed my grades at the stupid prep school I went to and got even more into modeling. I had just finished filming a few scenes for a movie to come out the next year and spending my payment frivolously on my cherry red ferrari when Jer got arrested for drinking and had been forced to call Jenna for help. She was furious and decided within the next month and a half, where she argued with Jeremy whom was confined to the apartment, that we were moving to Mystic Falls.

* * *

I pulled up to the school casually, and opened the door as I pulled the key from the ignition. Today I was dressed in a dark red dress that only reached my mid thigh with lace sleeves. I wore silver hoops and black pumps with a silver anklet on my left leg. My hair was upswept in a sloppy bun on top of my head and I once again felt the eyes of every male in the area staring at my ass. Not that I cared, unlike the Elena Gilbert that walked into this school two years ago, I'm completely comfortable with my sexuality. Well sort of, I've had a few good times with women...

"Elena!" I heard someone say next to me and I turned to see Bonnie, and shrieked.

"Bonnie!" I exclaimed excitedly, throwing my arms around her. I bit my lip as we hugged, knowing I was about to be yelled at for falling out of touch with her.

Bonnie pulled back and grabbed my arm as if to see I was real.

"I can't believe you're here! I thought you were dead for a while there! We haven't talked in like a year!" she said anxiously.

"I'm so sorry Bonnie, I was just... someone else for a while."

"It's fine Elena really," Bonnie promised and I let out a huge breath I'd been holding.

"Thank god..." I muttered in relief and she smiled. I could tell she hadn't really forgiven me, because Bonnie had always been great at holding a grudge, but I decided to take whatever I can get, since all my other friends live hundreds of miles away.

"So where have you been?" I asked.

"Africa," she answered and my eyes widened.

"Woah why?!"

"Dad thought he should 'culturize' me or something," she explained and I whistled, well that's one way to do it.

"I gotta get to class, I'll see you later?" She asked.

"Duh," I responded, smiling and giving her a little wave as she backed away. Smirking I turned and collided with a very hard, chiseled surface. I looked up into the eyes of none other than the one person I blamed for 95% of my unhappiness. Damon Salvatore.

"Great," I muttered smoothly under my breath and he raised an eyebrow.

"You must be the only girl in the world who can stand this close to me and still be annoyed," he said with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"I consider that a compliment, you're also one of the few lucky guys I am completely unattracted to," I added, narrowing my eyes and stepping back, turning to walk away.

"Oh you wound me!" he cried sarcastically, following me at my heels.

"So, have I done something to piss you off lately because I'm getting this icy vibe from you right now," he continued and I laughed.

"You don't even know, that's great, fucking fantastic," I grumbled and he grabbed me by the shoulders. I narrowed my eyes at the frustration edging confusion in his eyes.

"Seriously what did I do?" he demanded and I bit my lip, smiling to myself when I saw his sapphire eyes darken.

"I'll tell you someday, but not right now," I told him, pushing away and heading to my next class.

"Do you have to be so damn cryptic?!" I heard him call from behind me.

"Do you have to be such an unrelenting asshole?" I called back over my shoulder, and when I looked back over my shoulder he was still standing in the same place I'd left him. There was a strange emotion in his eyes, that I promptly ignored, and winked playfully at him as I sashayed away.

* * *

"Ms. Gilbert, can you maybe explain to me what Miss. Fell means by 'founding families'?" Mr. Saltzman asked me, probably noticing the way I was nearly passing out from boredom.

"She means the families that originally formed Mystic Falls in the 1800's," I explained lazily, crossing my legs.

"And why is this such a commonly known fact in this town, if I may ask?" he asked the class.

Anna Enger carefully raised her hand and he nodded at her.

"Because of all the old traditions the founding families keep up today? Like the founders ball and Miss Mystic pageant…" she explained.

"Huh…. interesting," Mr. Saltzman concluded before continuing on with the lesson.

Oh crap, the Miss Mystic pageant, that i hadn't participated in. Shit.

Not that I really wanted to enter, but I had signed up with my mom, I can still picture the expression of joy on her face and in her movements as she handed me the applications. Suddenly I felt a crushing pain in the pit of my stomach. I stood up immediately.

"Yes Ms. Gilbert?"

"I have to piss," I announced and a few people chuckled, Mr. Saltzman just chuckled and shook his head.

"Be quick."

"Sure," I responded, grabbing my bag and rushing out of class, breathing deeply. Quickly my ass.

I headed straight for the back wall, the stoners pit, I needed a hit of something, just to calm down. The stoners pit was pretty well occupied for the middle of class. I paid some goth for a pack of smokes and headed for the bleachers. I walked up them slowly, reaching the top and sprawling out across one of the benches.

Lighting the cigarette, I calmed down, taking my first drag.

I closed my eyes as I breathed in the smoke like therapy. It was quiet, but it wouldn't be in about half an hour when the football players came out to practice after class. I remembered Bekah when she'd talked about cheerleading, how fun she'd said it would be, before telling me how hot I'd look in the uniform. That had led to some drunken, lesbian experiences on her loveseat, but as soon as we woke up in the morning, we'd both moved on and forgot about it. We had some weird unspoken connection, and although I pretended not to know what it was, I always have.

When Bekah first turned fifteen her brother Finn got in an accident with her younger brother Kol in the car, and they never woke up. Bekah says she's over it, that it never really bothered her in the first place. But I know better.

I was startled by a loud clunk nearby and I sat up immediately. Sitting next to me was none other than Damon Salvatore.

"Ugh, what do you want? You're disturbing my peace," I complained, closing my eyes.

"Oh nothing, you know, just sitting here, breathing in the smell of your cigarette smoke, charming, very ladylike," he said in a practical tone and I sat up.

"I didn't ask for you to sit next to me," I growled and he shrugged. I moaned again and laid back.

"So pray tell me, why am I blessed with your thrilling presence?"

"I thought you'd like some company, though I can see that I was wrong," he murmured and I tried to focus on anything but his eyes, or that mouth, or those biceps….

"You were."

"Fine, but I'm still waiting for the reason you hate me so much… When did you say you'd tell me again?" he asked in a disinterested voice.

I sat up, leaned into his ear and murmured, "when I'm ready," and pulled away slowly. He stared at me, frozen. There was a stillness in the air I've never felt before and the chemistry between us burned like a thousand candles. I saw desire pooling in the pits of his eyes and I smirked. I stood and walked away quietly.

* * *

**A/N: So things are moving along, and you now know a pretty big amount of Elena's past, which is good… Lol I just got back from NYC so im kind of out of it and tired so I'm sorry if there are any weird parts in this that make no sense or sound hasty. **


End file.
